This invention relates to an electronic system for facilitating instruction of persons in the playing of musical instruments. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system useful in teaching students to play stringed instruments, such as a guitar, and in their learning to play individual musical compositions on such instruments.
Various attempts have been made to aid persons in learning to play a musical instrument and/or in learning to play a new composition on an instrument with which the individual is already familiar. In general, a student must become familiar with the instrument and the music to be played, including the various notes and time values thereof and, thereafter, tediously practice to become reasonably proficient on the instrument and/or in successfully performing a new composition on the instrument. Various devices have been developed, such as attachments to guitars and the like, to aid a student in learning to play such instruments and compositions thereon.
A prior art system for use with guitars and similar stringed instruments, is disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,080,867 granted Mar. 28, 1978 to Srinkarn Rotanangsu and entitled "Electronic Display System for Musical Instruments." In this known system, a display in the form of a biaxial arrangement light-emitting-diodes (LED's) indicates which string or strings are to be played along one axis and which fret is to be fingered along the other axis, as well as the time value or values of the note or notes. The student, when using this known system must constantly visually observe respective single rows of LED's along the two spaced apart axes, an x axis and a y axis, in order to receive the visual instructions allowing him properly to play the instrument and/or a particular musical composition. At best, this is difficult because of the need for observing the LED's along both the x and the y axes in order to receive the correct visual instructions, cues or stimuli for each note, of many to be played. Considerable eye movement may be required, a distinct shortcoming in the learning process and a distraction.
On the other hand, were a student using the know system to position the instrument, relative to his or her eyes, so that little or no eye or head movement would be required, so as virtually simultaneously to observe all the LED's along both the x and the y axes, it is most likely that the instrument would not be correctly oriented and/or positioned. Thus, at the same time a student is learning to play the instrument or a composition, in accordance with the know system, he or she is being conditioned to hold the instrument in less than the most desirable position and orientation and/or to make eye and head movements inappropriate for an accomplished musician. Indeed, the student may, as a result of using the known system, develop inappropriate and undesirable habits and/or techniques, which limit development of his or her skills and potential as a musician.
The prior art system of Rotananosu, supra, includes a keyboard for entering note value and note timing and a memory for storing data bits indicative of the notes and the timing thereof. The known system further includes time multiplexing for encoding the time values of the notes. The data is then recorded serially on a standard single tract cassette recorder. For playback, the serial data from the single tract cassette is converted into parallel data and fed to the instrument for display, the displaying being effected by light-emitting diodes positioned along two axes, which indicate the note and time values.
Inasmuch as the notes and time values thereof are entered via a nonmusical keyboard, in the known system, subtle exemplary artistic variations are not possible, as would be the case were a lesson being given by a musician who is present. Moreover, verbal instructions from a teacher and/or a demonstrational playing of the instrument by a teacher is not possible.